The abomination of desolation is a theme that runs throughout scripture; much of the time being unnoticed by many. When we read of the cities of Judah or the cities of Israel being laid waste and made desolate, we can know that these verses give us at least a partial glimpse of the end-time abomination of desolation within the corporate church, i.e. spiritual Israel or spiritual Jerusalem. The Book of Lamentations, for example, gives us much information concerning the destruction of the literal city of Jerusalem. Ultimately, however, these many verses teach of the final and spiritual destruction of the corporate church once Satan is loosed and allowed to rule within the congregations. In Isaiah chapter twenty-one we find a short account that may very well be can alluding to the abomination of desolation. Space does not allow for an extensive study of each verse, however the reader will profit much by studying these verses thoroughly. In verse two Isaiah declares that a grievous vision is revealed unto him. We wonder what this grievous vision is all about? Surely there must be many places in scripture where God sends a grievous vision? Actually, the answer is no. This is the only passage in all of scripture where God labels a vision to be a grievous vision. Grievous in this verse means extremely sorrowful. It is a most severe and sorrowful vision.

In verse one God tells us where this vision comes from. It comes from the desert or the wilderness. It comes from a dry land, one in which is lacking the Gospel filled fountains and waters of eternal salvation. This vision comes from a terrible land. Terrible is also translated as dreadful, a terrible or dreadful land. This seems very much to be a vision of the kingdom of Satan as it enters into the congregations of God. The unsaved make up the spiritual wilderness. The kingdom of Satan is typified in scripture as a nation (a wicked nation) or even a land.

In verse two God begins to disclose this grievous vision to the prophet Isaiah.

The vision begins this way: "The 8*treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously. The word treacherous means "to transgress; to be unfaithful; to deal deceitfully." Some translations read "the deceiver deceives," and this is exactly right. Verse two continues: "and the spoiler spoileth." The word 9*"spoiler" and "spoileth" is the same Hebrew word which means "to plunder; to lay waste; to ravage; to destroy; to rob; to oppress." Some translations read "the deceiver deceives and the plunderer plunders." Again, this is exactly right. "The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth," we read in King James Bible.

Verse two continues with the vision: "Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the [her?] sighing thereof have I made to cease." The Hebrew indicates that this can also read "all of 10* [her] sighing." Elam and Media were pagan nations. Elam was the oldest son of Noah's son Shem. His descendants were known as the Elamites. They were idolaters, and in the time of Abram, their land encompassed much of the known world. In the 500s B.C. Media became the most powerful empire in the world. God has chosen Elam and Media to represent the kingdom of Satan (which is the same as the kingdom of this world) in this vision. God commands Elam and Media to "go up" and He commands them to "besiege." Besiege means to "assault, to lay siege, or to inclose." But what or who is God commanding Satan to assault? Verse two ends with God saying: "...all the [her?] sighing thereof have I made to cease." One may naturally assume that Satan's pillage and assaults would cause the joy and the singing to cease. But why does God say the "sighing" will cease? Sighing means to grieve or to lament. When we compare scripture with scripture, we find that "sighing" is a distinctive characteristic of the church. Let us consider just two of many possible verses:

David (the Psalmist) says:

Sigh is a negative word meaning to groan or to mourn. David, as well as every believer sighs over their sins. Knowing that Christ paid for our sins, and yet while we are in this body we still sin, therefore we sigh over ours sins. Grieving and sighing over our sins is something that non-believers are oblivious to. The unbelievers do not sigh over their sins. Another beautiful verse on this matter is found in Ezekiel 9:4:

This is God's definition of what it really means to be a true believer in the God of scripture. The only way anyone can sincerely grieve and sigh over his sins is to become a "new creature in Christ," (Galatians 6:15). For those who are sincere, God puts a spiritual mark upon their foreheads. The only way anyone can truly sigh over their sins is to be brought and humbled to the position of knowing that Christ died for those sins. Then, if one is a true believer, he'll truly grieve and sigh over his sins. And we will have God's spiritual mark upon our forehead; meaning that we were purchased with a price and we belong to God.

Isaiah the prophet is horrified when he sees (in this vision) Satan (the destroyer) and his kingdom plundering - not the world, but plundering the Temple of God. Isaiah, of course, has no idea when this vision will occur, but he knows what is happening. Having heard only the beginning of this grievous vision, Isaiah says that his loins were filled with pain, verse three.

This vision caused Isaiah to literally experience pain in his side. He also says that he was taken by pangs, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth. He experienced severe pain, as a woman with labor pains, because of this sorrowful vision. "I was bowed down at the hearing of it." Isaiah is reiterating the horror of the vision and the reaction that it has on him. He was bowed down at the hearing of it. What does that mean? It means that he was literally thrown back, as if he were hit with some type of force, the vision was that powerful. The word 11*"bowed" as he was bowed down, is very different from the word "bow" as in to bow in worship. They are defined in the Hebrew as "to wrest." Wrest, which means to shift the position of or move; as if by vigorous twisting. In other words Isaiah was literally moved by the horror of this vision. He was thrown back or bowed down by it. Verse three continues as Isaiah says he was dismayed at the seeing of it. Isaiah was, as if he were literally there in the vision. He heard things and he saw things in this vision. He was dismayed, which in the Hebrew means to tremble inwardly or to be alerted with great alarm.

In verse four Isaiah continues to describe the physical effects that this vision has on him:

Isaiah's heart is racing. Terror affrighted me, he says; it overwhelmed him. This is Isaiah's reaction to such a horrifying vision that would not be totally and ultimately fulfilled until our day. Again, Isaiah sees Satan and his kingdom (represented by Elam and Media) which were vast areas of the ancient world. These countries are used to represent the world in the same way that Egypt or Assyria pictures the world in much of scripture.

In verse five God tells Isaiah what to do:

Notice carefully that the kingdom of Satan is not attacking and assaulting the world in any way whatsoever. The non-religious world is nowhere in view in this vision, as far as being the recipient of this assault. We know this because in verse five the defense is being set in place. God says to prepare the table. What does it mean to prepare the table? This is salvation language altogether! God has prepared a table for every person called into His kingdom. Psalm 23:5 says "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies," (The same Hebrew word "table"). But here in Isaiah's vision, we are not told to prepare "a" table, but rather we are told to prepare "the" table. And that table is God's table. The word 12*"prepare" here in Isaiah in this context means "to arrange; or to place in order." God is telling us in essence to put our faith in order, or arrange your spiritual house. He is telling us to prepare spiritually for the attack!

The Hebrew defines the *13table as "by implication, a meal." Jesus Christ is our meal. It is figuratively seen as the table prepared by Christ when He atoned for our sins by going to the cross. He made it possible to eat and drink at His table. We feed on His body, represented by the bread of the table. We spiritually drink of His blood, represented by the drink of the table. This "table" then represents Jesus Christ and His provision for us to become eternally saved. This table was pictured far back in the tabernacle of the congregation in the wilderness. The "table" of shewbread was a type of Christ's eternal table. God is warning us in this vision: Prepare "the" table; put your spiritual table in order; arrange your spiritual walk; BE READY! It seems quite possibly that God, in this vision, is showing Isaiah the abomination of desolation. As God allows Satan to rule in the congregations (as judgment upon the corporate church), this causes "the sighing to cease," as verse three says. Satan deceives and causes the unsaved within the corporate church to disregard the truth of God; to disregard their sins. There is no concern for the sin of adding and taking from the Word. There is no concern for personal sin. There is no sighing! The sighing of the corporate church has ceased, because Satan has deceived them into thinking all is well with their eternal souls!

As we continue on in verse five, God commands us to watch in the watchtower. Arrange our table and watch in the watchtower. What is the watchtower? The Church is our watchtower, of course. How do we watch? Not by watching the skies. We watch by reading and studying the Word of God. This is where our defense is. "Arrange the table, watch in the watchtower, eat and drink." This takes us back to Christ's table. We eat and drink of Christ. Jesus said: "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day," (John 6:53). We continue to see that this vision has everything to do with the church and only the church. The Table, the watchtower, the meal, and the drink, and even the sighing. The outside world is not in view as the focal point of this attack.

Verse five concludes by saying "arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield." The word princes is also translated as "rulers." God is warning the church and reiterating it to the ministers, teachers, elders, etc. "Arise ye princes and anoint the shield." Every believer is considered a "prince" of God. What is the shield in reference to? Does it have anything to do with the things of God? Of course the answer is yes. Christ is our shield. This word is also translated as buckler. Psalm 18:30 says:

Over and over again we read of Christ being our shield. And now, in this grievous vision, God commands us to "anoint the shield." We continue to see that this vision is dealing strictly with the church. To 14*"anoint" carries the meaning of consecration; "to consecrate oneself; to be set apart; to be holy." Christ calls us to be holy as He is holy. And so as much as we can, we need to consecrate ourselves for this duty or function. Repentance and holy living is a crucial part of the Christian faith. In Isaiah 21:5 God commands the church to anoint the shield. We are told to consecrate ourselves to Christ. Every generation of believers are called to this anointing or this consecration. But especially as we see Satan coming into the congregations with an overwhelming number of false gospels and false signs and wonders. This is what is spoken of in this vision of Isaiah chapter twenty-one. Even though it may have had its partial and literal fulfillment in Old Testament national Israel, it looks as though ultimately its fulfillment is at the end of time in the corporate church of Jesus Christ.

In verse six God declares:

A 15*watchman is someone who, according to the Hebrew, is called to observe or to wait. As we go into verse seven we should consider that the first six verses speak of the church and warn the church. They also speak of the world (the dominion of Satan) as the attacker. It speaks also of Isaiah himself, how this vision caused him literal pain and grief. But now verse seven begins to detail somewhat the grievous vision itself.

9* "Shaw-dad'" #7703 Strong's Hebrew. A prim. root; prop. to be burly, i.e. (fig) powerful (pass impregnable); by impl. to ravage: - dead, destroy (-er), oppress, robber, spoil (-er), utterly (lay) waste.

10* The Interlinear Bible of Hebrew, Greek, and English; Hendrickson, page 551

11* "Aw-vath'" #5791 Strong's Hebrew. A prim. root; to wrest:- bow self, (make) crooked, falsifying, overthrow, deal perversely, pervert, subvert, turn upside down.

12* "Aw-rak'" #6186 Strong's Hebrew. A prim. root; to set in a row, i.e. arrange, put in order (in a variety of applications):-put (set) (the battle, self) in array, compare, direct, equal, esteem, estimate, expert [in war], furnish, handle, join [battle], ordain, (lay, put, reckon up, set) (in) order, prepare, tax, value. Young's Hebrew: To arrange, set in array. Hendrickson Interlinear: Arrange

13* "Shool-khawn'" #7979 Strong's Hebrew. From #7971; a table (as spread out); by impl. a meal:-table.

14* "Maw-shakh'" # 4886 Strong's Hebrew. A prim. root; to rub with oil, i.e. to anoint; by impl. to consecrate; also to paint.

15* "Tsaw-faw'" #6822 Strong's Hebrew. A prim. root; prop. to lean forward, i.e. to peer into the distance; by impl. to observe, await:-behold, espy, look up (well), wait for, (keep the) watch (-man).
Young's Hebrew: to look out; to watch

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